Forget all the plastic surgery, child-molestation cases, and putting nets over his kids’ heads while in public for a moment. I’m not going there today.

Michael Jackson is responsible for the two greatest pop songs ever written.

At the tail end of 1969 the Jackson 5 dropped their first single, “Want You Back,” on the unsuspecting world. By the time you realize fingertips have tickled a piano your ears pick up the guitar strumming the beat. The piano riff is shaking your hips for you. A spaced out clap lets you know your feet are gonna be joining your hips in a few seconds. As the lead guitar flows over the rhythm and the strings take things a little higher, the pulse builds over a 20-second introduction to a song that makes anyone within shouting distance bust a move and a child’s voice unleashes an affirming “Uh-huuuuuuuuuuh” over the dance party.